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The Jewish Community Until 1918

Warta was established in 1253. In 1507, Warta officially received town
status. In the 15th to 16th centuries, the economy
of the town, which consisted of trade and crafts, developed. Conventions
and gatherings of the Catholic nobility also had a lot of influence on
the town's development.

In the years 1507, 1757, 1799, and 1882, many fires erupted in Warta.
This kept the town from developing. The Swedes destroyed Warta almost to
its foundation during their invasion in 1656. In the 19th and
20th centuries, one of the reasons that Warta did not develop
was because it was not connected to the train system.

Jewish settlement started in the first half of the 16th century
and it was one of the first in that region. The origins of those first
residents were from Moravia and from other towns in Poland. By 1564, the
Jews owned six houses and by 1616, they owned 17 houses. During the Swedish
War in 1656, most of the houses of the Jews were burned. Some of the Jews
died by an epidemic and the rest left the town.

Renewal of the Jewish settlement started in the 1660's. The Jews faced
many difficulties. The Christians did not give them freedom of trade. They
were not allowed to buy fur, they were not allowed to slaughter meat or
to trade in meat. Taxes to the Bernadine monastery and to the treasury
of the kingdom were also increased.

The Jews pleaded their case to the king and in 1671, they were given
some privileges. This was in conformity with the previous privileges given
to the Jews of Warta and included a few more new privileges. Among those
were the cancellation of the limitations on the Jewish butchers and traders
of meat. Also, Jewish furriers were allowed to make and sell fur hats.
Some privileges were given for Jews to improve their homes. Delays in mortgage
payments on plots were allowed. The delaying of the payments of debts was
very important for the community, as they owed 35,000 zlotys from debts
made between 1681-1790, and they had lots of difficulty paying these debts.

In the 18th century, the treasury and the town imposed new
taxes on the Jews. In the second half of the 18th century, the
people of the town, with the support of the central government tried to
stop the Jews from leasing the production and marketing of beer and wine.
It is no surprise that the Jewish community, so rescued by the privileges
they received, tried to get those privileges granted by the rest of the
kings of Poland up until the last king.

The kings' privileges did not always help the Jews. Often, the people
in the town managed to limit the income of the Jews and to impose new payments
and mortgages on them. Despite these difficulties, the Jewish community
continued to grow. In 1791 there were 35 houses owned by Jews, which was
21% of all the houses in Warta. The Jewish population grew to 339. Prussian
rule, which began in 1793, was heavy-handed on the Jews in terms of taxes,
etc. At that time, several vendors and Jews with workshops left the city.

During the period of Congress Poland, city residents acted to limit
the right of the Jews to live in the city and to establish a Jewish quarter.
But, they only managed to get an order limiting the right of Jews to buy
real estate on the main streets, especially around the market square. This
order was valid until 1862. At that time, the residential limitations were
cancelled in all of Poland.

The main source of income in the second half of the 18th
century was commerce and crafts. In 1793, among the 49 households that
were surveyed, 22 were merchants and grocers, and 22 were craftsmen (mainly
furriers). Also, there were 2 innkeepers and 2 barbers. During the main
period of Congress Poland, the Jews made a few attempts at manufacturing.
Joachim Wolsztajn, a Jew, founded a weaving factory, and a Polish resident
founded a soap factory. Both factories lasted just a short time. In the
1890's, Jews owned small factories. There were two oil factories, two tanneries,
two soap factories, and one sugar factory. There were also ten windmills
owned by Christians. In the end of the 19th century or the beginning
of the 20th century, Ber Munter founded a plant for dying fabrics
and two leather plants. He served the farmers in the area, as they could
weave in their homes. The main source of income for Jews was from mercantile
activity (in low volume) and crafts.

In the center of the town, there were a few orchards and vegetable gardens,
and about 15 of their owners became wealthy. At the beginning of World
War I, Kozaks raped and killed some Jews, and after a new attack, the Germans
reconquered the town. Afterwards, the Jews went through a difficult economic
period. Merchandise was confiscated; all business activity was frozen;
food shortages existed.

Documents from the first half of the sixteenth century show that there
was an independent Kehillah in Warta. In 1534, the first synagogue was
built and another larger one was built in 1641. The names of the rabbis
at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th
century are unknown. Documents from that time show that the community had
a rabbi, and the budget showed that money was assigned for rabbinical purposes.
In the second half of the 18th century, one of the rabbis was
Szymon, son of Wolf.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Hassidic influence
in the community increased, and the rabbi who came to his rabbinical seat
in 1824 or 1826 was Moshe Nechemia HaCohen. He was born in 1790 in Warta
to Rabbi Beniamin Beinusz, the student of Rabbi Akiva Ejger. Also, he was
one of the best students of both the Chozeh from Lublin and Rabbi Simche
Bunem of Przysucha. Moshe Nechemia HaCohen conducted a court in
Warta during the entire period of his position.

In his conduct, he followed the Hassidic philosophy of Przysucha, and
added to it his own idea that the main thing in the service of the creator
is joy and the joy of a worshiping the creator. This was the basis of his
popular name, the Rabbi of Joy. As the Admor of the common people, he encountered
in Warta a lot of resistance from other courts and from Mitnagdim. They
fought him regardless of the means and struggled to undermine his right
to function in the rabbinate. In order to annoy him, they asked him very
dangerous and petty questions that he refused to answer or didn't know
how to answer. Things progressed to such a state that a Beit Din [a court]
of three rabbis was established. The court decided that the rabbi had to
re-apply for his rabbinical ordination. After 13 years as a rabbi, Moshe
Nechemia resigned from his position. Rabbi Yehudah Leibush Rothbein (he
died in 1862) was the next rabbi in Warta; previously, he was the rabbi
in both Grójec and Góra Kalwaria.

From 1851-1891, Josef Gerszon was the rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi
Moshe of Działoszyn (author of "Tikunai Shabbat"). Rabbi Josef Gerszon,
student of Rabbi Mendel from Kock, led the court and was known as the Admor
from Dvart [the Yiddish name for Warta].

After Rabbi Josef Gerszon, in 1892, the rabbi who rose to the post was
one of the greatest rabbis of Poland at that time. He was Rabbi Meir Dan
Plotzki, born in 1866 or 1867, and the son of Rabbi Chaim Yitzhak Ber Plotzker
from Kutno. Rabbis from every part of Poland as well as outside of Poland
asked him halachic decisions. He left a lot of articles including the following:
"Chemdat Yisrael" (commentaries on the Book of Mitzvot of Rambam), "Klei
Chemda" (about the five books of Moses), and "Questions on Peace in Jerusalem"
(a critique of the Seder Kedushim that was published in Hungary, which
was defined as if it was a Seder of the Jerusalem Talmud). His additional
works included "Chemdat Shlomo" (on "Orach Hayim"), "Tochachat Musar" (a
collection of his sermons), questions and answers on the four books of
the Shulkhan Arukh, and "Chidushai Torah."

In 1918, Rabbi Meir Dan left and became the Rabbi in Ostrow Mazowiecka.
In his last days (he died in 1928), he was the head of Yeshiva Mitivta
in Warsaw. He was active in Agudat Israel and was the head of Agudat Rabanim
in Poland. In the second half of the 19th century, Rabbi Shaul
Moshe Zilberman, the rabbi of Wieruszów, founded a Yeshiva. Rabbi Zilberman
was supported by his father-in-law. After him, the head of the Yeshivah
was Rabbi Jakob Jehudah Kocial.

Pioneers of modern political life of the Jewish community of Warta were
Zionist groups that organized in the years 1905-6. In these years the activities
of revolutionaries were also noticeable. Two of them, Ajzyk Dobrzynski
and Wolf Grabiner, were exiled to Siberia in 1908. During the German occupation
of the first World War, the activities of the Zionist groups increased.
It was from these groups that the General Zionists and Poalei Zion were
established, as well as a library. During this period there was a sports
club called "Tornferein," where physical exercises were held. The gentleman
who testified to the increase in social activities was the person who established
the popular common kitchen. He was dealing with the distribution of food
donated by "Joint" immediately after the war. The food was primarily for
children and those who suffered from the typhus epidemic. In 1918 a Jewish
kindergarten was established in Warta.

Between the Two World Wars

Between the two World Wars, there was no change in the professional
composition of the community. The main income continued to be earned mainly
by small merchants, button peddlers and stall owners. Income was also earned
by small workshops, hat makers, tailors, shoemakers, and blacksmiths. About
twenty families earned their income from rented orchards in the village
and farms. They dealt in the wholesale of fruits, and they delivered to
Łódź. A few of the Jews actually grew fruits and vegetables and sold them
to the market.

The Zionists were most important in their numbers and influence. On
the eve of the elections for the Zionist Congress, almost 300 shekels were
sold. In the election for Congress in 1937, they voted the following way:
108 for the General Zionists, 70 for Mizrachi, and 128 for the League for
the Workers of Israel (Labor).

Among the prominent youth groups were Gordonia (established in 1931),
Hechalutz (established in the 1920's), Kibbutz Hachshara (started in 1932),
and Mizrachi Youth, (established in 1932). The Zionists had a drama club.
Income from their frequent shows was used for public purposes. Agudat Israel
also developed activities, usually held on the eve of elections for the
leadership of the community and of the town. In the first years after World
War I, Agudat Israel established a girls club called B'not Yaakov, and
a school called Beit Yaakov. The Bund had only a few members. They were
mainly involved in culture, the library, and the music band.

In the elections for the community leadership in 1931,

1) The General Zionists won a majority of two mandates.
2) Mizrachi got one mandate
3) No party under the influence of the Zionists got 1 mandate
4) Agudat Israel got 3 mandates.

The head of the community was Lejb Lajzer Lenczycki. He was a Sochaczew
Chassid supported by the Zionists. Between the two World Wars, starting
in 1920, the rabbi was Eliahu Laskowski (born in 1886). He was previously
the Rabbi of Głowno. He learned in the court of the Admor of Sochaczew,
joined the dynasty and pursued his friendship with the last of the Admors
of Sochaczew, Rabbi David Bornsztajn. He spoke fluent Polish and therefore
was for many years a member of the education committee of the town of Warta.

Aside from the traditional self-help institutions such as visiting the
sick and performing charity, etc., there were also two banks that were
active between the two World Wars. They lent money to merchants and artisans
at low interest rates. Surprisingly, it was the Chevra Kadisha of Warta
who took care of the mental hospital.

The Holocaust

When World War Two broke out, the population of the town started to
flee to the surrounding towns and villages because Warta was only 60 kilometers
away from the German border. During the battles, the entire town was damaged,
but especially the Jewish quarter. The synagogue was destroyed, as well
as other buildings. After the German occupation, the refugees started to
return gradually. The Jewish refugees who returned discovered that their
houses had been robbed. Among the first task was to get the Jews to bury
the war casualties in the town and the surrounding areas.

During the first days of the occupation, the Germans gathered the Jews
in the market place. They beat them and cut their hair. In the following
weeks, Jews were kidnapped in the streets and their beards were pulled
out. This was the fate of the Rabbi EliahuLaskowski. The kidnapped
Jews were also sent to forced labor. The Judenrat appointed by the Germans
was forced to supply working crews daily and to pay high penalty taxes.
In November or December of 1939, the Jews were ordered to evacuate the
town. The town had been annexed to the Reich and the Jews were forbidden
to reside in the town. The Jews were allowed to take 100 kilograms of luggage
per person.

An announcement was made that the Jews would be relocated to the Lublin
area where they would be given apartments and decent conditions. The same
announcement was made to the Poles. Despite the intention of the authorities
to start the deportation the day after this announcement, it took the Judenrat
a few days to organize the first transport. The Germans directed the people
to the train station. They kept them there all night and then ordered them
to return to town. It is not known why the deportation was not carried
out at that time, Maybe, the deportation didn't occur because of the lack
of trains. When the Jews returned, they discovered that their houses had
been robbed again.

In February of 1940, the ghetto was established in a neighborhood populated
almost entirely by Jews in an area near the Beit Hamidrash. There
were no fences around the ghetto. Within the ghetto a few Polish families
were allowed to continue to live. The Jews were formally forbidden to leave
the ghetto. However, the ghetto was guarded only by Jewish policemen; so
it was easy to get out of the ghetto and it was even easier for the Poles
to get into the ghetto. The Germans allowed the Jewish craftsman to pursue
their craft on condition that they first serve the needs of the German
authorities. The Judenrat requested that the many Jewish craftsmen in the
ghetto were kept busy, especially the tailors. The shoemakers, furriers,
advised the mayor to establish workshops. Part of the income would be used
to rehabilitate the destroyed town. The mayor agreed and by his order,
a group of 250 Jewish tailors and furriers executed orders from the German
army.

It is not known whether the workshops were active inside the ghetto
or the Jews left the ghetto to work outside. The mayor employed a large
number of Jewish youth in agriculture on farms that had previously belonged
to Jews. He treated these workers well. However the main source of income
from the Jews in the ghetto came from private orders from the population
in the surrounding area. The Poles would arrive in the ghetto. They bought
the products of the craftsmen and the Jews bought food stuff.

The Jewish situation progressively worsened as the Jews were deported
to the labor camps in the Poznan area: Lenzingen-Junikowo, Leszno and elsewhere.
By the end of 1940, the authorities started to draft Jewish youth to the
labor camps. In the beginning there were many volunteers because the Germans
promised comfortable living conditions, lots of food and permission to
send home their pay. In January of 1941, the first transport left with
80 to 100 youth. A short time later, letters arrived in Warta from the
volunteers describing the terrible conditions of the town and their begging
for food and clothing.

The boys stopped volunteering and the Germans instituted forced drafting
of the Jews. They drafted young men first, then young women, followed by
older men. Craftsmen and workers employed by the Germans were exempt. After
the forced deportation to the camps, the Jewish population in Warta fell
to approximately 1,300 in 1941 and about 1,000 in the summer of 1942. The
Judenrat and the families of those deported to labor camps requested permission
to send food packages and clothing to their family members, but the authorities
set severe restrictions: half a kilogram of bread per person every 2-3
weeks. Because they were allowed to send clothing more often, the Jews
would hide slices of bread in those packages. When the Germans discovered
the deceit, they arrested a number of Jews. The Judenrat had to obtain
their release by paying 35,000 marks, which they collected from the population.

On Lag Ba'omer 1942, the Germans conducted a public hanging of 10 or
12 Jews. Among the condemned were the chairman of the Judenrat, London;
Rabbi Eliahu Laskowski and his son; Szmuel Jerozolimski (leader of the
General Zionists); Motel Rotsztein (chairman of Agudat Israel). Also condemned
were Feiwusz Meirowicz (former farm owner near Warta), Ezra Rozenwald,
Moshe Shimon Klinowski, Landsberg and presumably 2 or 3 more Jews. Some
of the deceased Jews were members of the Judenrat. According to one version,
Rabbi Laskowski and his son were hanged because he appealed to the head
of the county and asked forgiveness upon hearing that ten Jews were condemned
to be hanged.

The Jews were forced to build the scaffold on the plot where the synagogue
stood. On the day of the execution, the Germans ordered the Jewish policemen
to bring the entire Jewish population to the premises and to forbid them
by threat of death, any cries of desperation or despair. The Poles also
came in large numbers to witness the horrible site. The Jewish policemen
were ordered to bring the condemned and perform the sentence. The brother
of one of the policemen was among the condemned and it was only by chance
that he didn't have to hang his own brother. Before the execution, the
Germans announced to the public (those present) that a death sentence was
given in retribution for the illegal sending of bread to the labor camps
and among the condemned was Ezra Rozenwald who organized the sending of
the bread.

Witnesses mentioned the heroic behavior of Rabbi Laskowski who, before
the hanging, encouraged all of the condemned, and urged them to accept
the sentence with pride as befitting the sons of the eternal people. He
spoke about the salvation of Israel. He said confession at the top of his
voice and told the Jews to revenge the vengeance of the killings in the
kingdom. Then he asked to be buried in his clothing as the law requires.
The rest of the condemned withstood bravely this last ordeal. After the
hanging the Jews were dispersed. They were allowed to take the bodies down,
only the day after, and were forbidden to bury them according to Jewish
law.

The ghetto was destroyed two or three months later, on August 24-25,
1942. Most of the Jews in Warta amounting to about 1000 were deported to
the Chelmno extermination camp. A number of strong young Jewish men who
were chosen by selection were sent to the Łódź ghetto. Among them were
some of the agricultural workers of the surrounding area, mentioned earlier.
A group of sick people, mostly those in hospitals, were shot on the spot
by German policemen.

At the outbreak of the War, there were about 50-200 people in Warta.
The majority of these Jews were imprisoned in Nazi camps. Of those Jews
who were able to escape the Warta ghetto and to hide while it was evacuated,
only one lived until the day of liberation. After the war, a group of 25
Jews from the DP [Displaced Persons] camps spent a short time in Warta.
But, they quickly left the town out of fear after the killing of Jews after
the War increased.